The Advertising Producers Association (APA), the London organization that represents the business interests of U.K. production, postproduction, visual effects and editing companies, unveiled its annual reel, the APA 50, on Sept. 22. The reel, which premiered at the London Science Museum’s IMAX theater, honors the top 50 spots from U.K. directors and production companies.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of television advertising in the U.K., and to commemorate the occasion, the APA screened the first spot that ever aired in the country–an ad for Gibbs Toothpaste–prior to screening this year’s selections.
Among the reel highlights was Honda’s “Grrr,” out of Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), London, and directed by Smith & Foulkes of Nexus Productions, London. (The spot won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes International Advertising Festival.) And director Daniel Kleinman–who now maintains Kleinman Productions, London–was well-represented on the reel, with NSPCC’s “Ventriloquist,” out of Saatchi & Saatchi, London; the Sony PlayStation 2 spots “Golfers” and “Athletes” via TBWA/London; and the SUV safety awareness ad “Keep It On All Fours” from Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), New York.
Some U.S. directors saw work they directed for the U.K. market make it onto the APA reel. Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, was behind Levi’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” out of BBH, London, (Murro’s U.K. spotwork is done via Independent, London.). Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man was behind the Orange spot “Patrick Swayze,” out of Mother, London. StyleWar, who are repped via bicoastal Smuggler, gained inclusion for their “Free Feet” spot out of W+K, Portland, Ore. And the Smirnoff ad “Diamond,” directed by Traktor of bicoastal/international Partizan, and Traktor, Santa Monica, for JWT, London, was included on the reel.
The Lynx spot “Getting Dressed,” out of BBH, London, and directed by Ringan Ledwidge of Small Family Business was included–Ledwidge is repped stateside via Park Pictures, New York. Two Stella Artois spots, “Ice Skating Priests” and “Pilot” out of Lowe, London, were included; the former was directed by Jonathan Glazer of Academy, London, while the latter was helmed by Ivan Zacharias of Stink, London. (He’s repped in the U.S. by bicoastal Smuggler.) Miller Genuine Draft’s “Downhill,” out of Mother, and directed by Academy’s Fredric Planchon. also scored with a slot on the APA reel.
The Mercedes-Benz spots “Office” and “Clouds,” via Campbell Doyle Dye, London, also made the cut; Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises, London, directed “Office”–Budgen is repped stateside via bicoastal Anonymous Content–while Nicolai Fuglsig of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander directed “Clouds.” Volkswagen’s “Singing In The Rain,” from DMB DDB London, and Ne-O at Stink, also gained inclusion. The Gerard de Thame-directed spot “Dreams” for Honda, out of Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica, was included on the APA reel–production was handled via Gerard de Thame Films, London, and bicoastal HSI Productions. Another car spot, Renault Espace’s “Space,” directed by Dom & Nic of Outsider, London, and Publicis Conseil, Paris, was included; the ad was co-produced with Bandits, St. Cloud, France.
The United Nations landmine awareness spot, “Kick Off,” was also selected for the reel–it was directed by Kevin Thomas of Thomas Thomas, London, for agency The Brooklyn Brothers, New York. The Pepsi spot “Surfer” from director Tarsem of bicoastal/international @radical.media, and agency AMV BBDO, London, gained inclusion. And Nick Gordon, of Academy, also scored inclusion for his work on Levi’s “Bike,” out of BBH.
